Nathan Zachary

Nathan Zachary is well known with a reputation of being a ladies' man and a notorious air pirate. He is the leader of a group of sky pirates, the Fortune Hunters.

Pre-Crimson Skies
Not much is known about Nathan Zachary's life before the collapse of the United States. What is known is still enough to paint him as an ace pilot.

During the Great War, Zachary served as a pilot until he was captured by the Germans and sent to a prison camp. During his tenure in enemy hands, he eventually met Dr. Wilhelm Fassenbiender, Germany's previous head of research for the Imperial Air Service. Together the two staged a riot, destroyed the camp, and fled east into Russia. While in Russia the two were responsible for helping construct aircraft to combat the Red Army, though it is unknown if they were actively members of the White Army.

Zachary eventually returned to America, where he became a stock broker on Wall Street. It was around this time that he met Johnny Johnson, the future second-in-command of Huges Aviation and Colossal Studios; Zachary considered him a 'pompous asshole' at the time, an opinion he still holds. Eventually as Prohibition and the Stock Market Crash of 1929 took their toll on the United States, Zachary wound up burning his last Wall Street dollar before turning to other avenues of work.

By 1934, Zachary had come to serve aboard a former-Empire State zeppelin, the Fulcrum, eventually mutinying against its captain before seizing control and creating the Fortune Hunters.

Life as an Air Pirate
By 1936, Zachary's group attempted to stage a raid on a British zeppelin HMS Burlington with the help of Empire State pirate Lucas Miles. However, the deal turned sour when Miles betrayed the group in the middle of the fight, leading to Zachary and his crew destroying Miles' airship with aerial torpedoes to the bridge.

In 1937, Zachary came to lead his crew through a myriad of adventures. These included: 1938 saw Zachary come into contact with the Fascist organization known as Die Spinne, and their attempt to take over the Americas. Despite the loss of his friend Dr. Fassenbiender and the near-destruction of Chicago by Die Spinne, Zachary was able to form an alliance with the Red Skulls pirate gang and stop Die Spinne's plans.
 * Finding a lost treasure ship in Hawai'i, inadvertently destroying the Medusa pirate gang and a British military base in the process.
 * Rescuing Dr. Wilhelm Fassenbiender and his daughter from the Russians and Boeing aircraft, taking a prototype Bloodhawk in doing so. Stealing fuel from a Russian oil tanker, and destroying Blake Aviation's zeppelin Promised Land.
 * Rescuing movie star Lana Cooper from Colossal Studios, stealing the Spruce Goose, and defeating Johnny Johnson and several other aces in an air race, along with destroying the Hollywood zeppelin Gemini.
 * Stealing a cargo zeppelin, along with destroying the Black Hat pirate gang's base and zeppelin during a raid by the latter on Blake Aviation.
 * Exposing the Sacred Trust corporation's shady practices and defeating the still-alive Lucas Miles.

Personality
Zachary dislikes the wealthy and privileged, he sees them as selfish and insensitive towards others and, as a result, the Fortune Hunters often attempt to strip the rich of their money and influence. Zachary is not without rules, however, his "Articles of Piracy" insist that innocents should not be harmed, and that pirates should steal only from those who can afford the loss.

Zachary is also a considerable ladies' man, having had numerous relationships with numerous women. As a consequence, this has led to him getting himself into trouble several times, including a clash with Black Swan and the Medusas. During the Die Spinne crisis he wound up getting double-crossed by Maria Sanchez during a romantic moment, leading to her stealing the plans to Dr. Fassenbiender's wind turbine and taking them to Die Spinne.

Along with these traits, Zachary is prone to moments of general selflessness at times, such as rescuing a hospital ship from the Black Hats while knowing there would be no reward. however, other seemingly selfless acts are sometimes driven by a need for vengeance or out of spite. Case in point, his entire campaign to destroy the Black Hats was fueled by their capturing of his crew, along with the revelation of Lucas Miles' survival, whereas the rescue of Lana Cooper was done to spite Johnny Johnson.

Appearances

 * Crimson Skies
 * Crimson Skies Instruction Manual
 * Wings of Fortune
 * Pirate's Gold
 * ''Devil's Flight
 * Rogue Flyer
 * High Road to Revenge
 * Bayou Blues